Approved Apple Barclays Card 2500 Credit Line !! ??

I was looking to purchase a new Macbook Air and applied for the Apple Barclays card. I have a score of 614 and lots of bad things on my credit report. (I don't know all the lengo you all use around here, lol) I have collections, many accounts written off, ect..

But to my surprise, I was approved for $2500 credit line! How is that even possible? My income is abot 50,000 and I have held the same job for almost 5 years. I wouldn't think that would help THAT much would it? I am very happy, just very surprised!

Re: Approved Apple Barclays Card 2500 Credit Line !! ??

I got denied for the apple financing in January 2010. I didn't start looking at my fico reports until fall 2010 but In 9/2010 I had a 703 with no baddies. Since then I've added a BoA Amex, USAA World Mastercard, and a Delta Gold Amex, all with nothing less than a 5k CL and all but the BoA were instant approvals. Even that card took about a 30 second recon to be approved.

I don't remember what Barclarys cited in their decline message, but I think it may have been lack of open credit lines. I've fixed that since then

Re: Approved Apple Barclays Card 2500 Credit Line !! ??

That is just the thing, it was the ONLY credit card I had gotten approved for! Just out of the blue, BAM they approved me. I have since gotten approved for a Cap One, but only for a $500 CL. I'm ok with two cards, because my credit is VERY bad and I have no idea how I even got those?

I am very happy and feel very lucky Barclays gave me a chance. I actually wonder if somehow it was a glitch? But I am going to take my grace and be responsible to improve my credit, thats for sure!

Re: Approved Apple Barclays Card 2500 Credit Line !! ??

I 100% agree, that is awesome for you, the APR is high (for me I dont care, I PIF all cards every month except one with the lowest APR for 2-8% util purposes) but this can be a great rebuilder card for you, use it, PIF every month and use your Cap1 (which I assume is 0 APR for 6 or 12 months?) to keep a small balance on.

You say you now have two CC's

1. Barclays 2500CL

2. Cap1 500CL

That's 3000 total revolving credit, I would let at least $10-15 report every month on your credit reports, that should report you @1 or 2% util (I know FICO rounds up util) either 1 or 2% util is better than showing 0% util, using this method is really only important if

1. You want to maximize your scores monthly

2. If you want to app for another CC or Loan etc.....

3. If you have APR's

4. To keep you out of debt

Other than that, if you're not worried about util and maxing your scores monthly (and the other reasons I listed above) keeping a <9% util is not crucial, just a best case scenario overall.

Here's an example of what you would want to do if you wanted to keep yourself under 9%......

Use both cards as much as you can afford to pay every month, PIF the Barclays two or three days before the due date (online pymts are best) don't use it again until the statement posts so you can be positive it will report 0. (If you pay several times a month with Barclays they will put a 10 day hold on the pymt each time, so I recommend paying just once, just before the due date "I was told this by the Barclays Rep yesterday")

With the Cap1 CC use it as well and you can pay several times a month if you like, Cap1 does not hold the pymts, pay all but 10-15$ 2 or 3 days before the due date and don't use the card till the day after the due date, then pay the 10-15$ after the statement posts. This will show usage and a good pymt history as well as keep your scores the highest possible.

I would also look into sending some goodwill letters to every one of the negative listers on your credit reports. It takes a lot of persistence to bounce back from bad credit, some can achieve it faster than others, I'm proof of that, look at my siggy, 14 months I worked my butt off to go from a 583 up to 770's and above.

You may see an initial increase in your scores (if you had no revolving credit before these two cards) because your util was at 100% but now that you have tradelines with 3000 avail credit it may offset the cost of the inq's and then some, however, you may see a small drop in your scores, BUT, they will rebound very quickly if you utilize responsible credit behavior and follow the advice above.

I'm no expert by any means, but my situation was similar to yours a year ago, and this is how I proceeded with my rebuilding process (for the most part) I actually apped for four cards between the months of June and Dec, was approved for all of them (starter cards) and followed what I typed above to the tee, and also the last baddie just came off my report ( a CO from 2005, was a fraud acct, was never my CC) I disputed it 4 times or so and finally gave up last month and to my surprise last week it was gone from all three reports, raising my scores significantly.

However you choose to rebuild, I sincerely wish you all the best.

I also just wanted to apologize, I have learned soooo much in the last 3 1/2 months I've been a member here (and also the past 14 months) I sometimes think I am an expert (I'm NOT) and I really like to try and give good advice, I want to see others bounce back and sometimes I let my typing get away from me, so for that I'm sorry for this long post, and hopefully I have provided some good advice. My intentions are good.

Re: Approved Apple Barclays Card 2500 Credit Line !! ??

For some reason I can not quote you, I keep getting an error..........

As far as the Barclays CC, any purchase you make from Apple qualify's for 0% interest for 12 months $999 and up. If balances are not paid in full by the end of the applicable period, or if a late payment is made, interest will be charged from the purchase date at a 22.99% variable APR.

I would focus most on paying that CC down first, try not to make any other purchases with that CC till you have paid it off. (You have 12 months to do so without paying any interest) personally I would try to pay it as quickly as possible.

Now that you will have a balance on the Barclays card for a while, I would use the Cap1 however you like but pay that one in full every month, its always best to show a balance on just one CC. Your util will be a little high because of the 1500 on the Barclays card, it will actually be at 50% at first (you have 3000 total avail credit) but as long as you pay it monthly and make sure you pay in full any charges you make on the Cap1 by the due date, your util will keep dropping.

Have both CC's reported to the CRA's yet? I would pull a report from both EQ and TU now (from here at MyFico) and again in like 3 months to see if any changes in your score.

The lower your util, the more your scores will rise, don't miss any pymts and you should be on your way to building a healthy credit behavior. You may not see really great score rises with those baddies on your report (not as much as you would see if your report was clean) but you should see your scores rise as you use these CC's, and pay on time and work on getting your util down.

Re: Approved Apple Barclays Card 2500 Credit Line !! ??

Mustanglvr2006 wrote:As far as the Barclays CC, any purchase you make from Apple qualify's for 0% interest for 12 months $999 and up. If balances are not paid in full by the end of the applicable period, or if a late payment is made, interest will be charged from the purchase date at a 22.99% variable APR.

Excellent point, mustang, and one that's easy to overlook. OP - you may find that your minimum monthly payment with Barclays will not pay off your balance by the time the 0% runs out - and 22.99% retroactive to day one is a killer. I agree with Mustang - pay this baby off very aggressively so you're not hit with that retroactive high finance charge in 12 months.

Also, there will likely be some FICO score loss for high utilization on the Barclay card until the balance is lower - if my math's right the utilization is now at 60% which is high. Some folks are willing to forego movies or morning lattes or eating out (or whatever) for a short time in an effort to really pop utilization down.

Congrats on your new cards and your hard work! Best wishes on your good FICO building plans!

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